Winemaker Notes
Les Galimardes comes from old vines of Grenache and Syrah planted on clay limestone soils covered with galets in the lieu-dit of Galimardes south of the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Each variety is harvested and fermented separately – concrete tanks for the Grenache and 225L French oak barrels for the Syrah – before blending and bottling.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The two special cuvées are some of the gems in the vintage. The 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape Les Gallimardes comes from one of the great sites in the southern part of the appellation and is just about all Grenache (there’s some very old vine Syrah, which struggles in this hot terroir). While not up to the out of this world 2016, it has a beautiful bouquet of cassis, kirsch liqueur, black raspberries, garrigue, and peppery herbs. Deep, full-bodied, and powerful on the palate, it has ultra-fine tannins as well as loads of character. It’s going to drink brilliantly for 15 years or more.
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Wine Enthusiast
Luscious flavors of black fig and strawberry preserves are accented by twists of peppery spice and bramble in this concentrated blend of 90% Grenache and 10% Syrah. Vinified and matured primarily in concrete (with just 10% aged in new barriques), it's a luminously fruity, almost cream-textured sip anchored by fine-grained but raspy tannins. While hedonistic in youth.
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Wine Spectator
Juicy in feel, with a compact, well-built core of blackberry, black currant and plum paste flavors, infused liberally with licorice snap and apple wood notes. A tarry hint underscores the finish, though the fruit stays dominant and driven throughout. Very solid. Best from 2021 through 2038.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
More tightly coiled than last year, the 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape Les Gallimardes now seems more herbal than floral, with greenish streaks running through the crisp red berry fruit. A 90-10 blend of Grenache and Syrah from the lieu-dit les Gallimardes, the Syrah spent a year in new oak, while the Grenache aged in tank. It's full-bodied yet taut and racy, but it should relax in a couple of years and then drink well for at least a decade.
Rating: 93+
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
Famous for its full-bodied, seductive and spicy reds with flavor and aroma characteristics reminiscent of black cherry, baked raspberry, garrigue, olive tapenade, lavender and baking spice, Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the leading sub-appellation of the southern Rhône River Valley. Large pebbles resembling river rocks, called "galets" in French, dominate most of the terrain. The stones hold heat and reflect it back up to the low-lying gobelet-trained vines. Though the galets are typical, they are not prominent in every vineyard. Chateau Rayas is the most obvious deviation with very sandy soil.
According to law, eighteen grape varieties are allowed in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and most wines are blends of some mix of these. For reds, Grenache is the star player with Mourvedre and Syrah coming typically second. Others used include Cinsault, Counoise and occasionally Muscardin, Vaccarèse, Picquepoul Noir and Terret Noir.
Only about 6-7% of wine from Châteauneuf-du-Pape is white wine. Blends and single-varietal bottlings are typically based on the soft and floral Grenache Blanc but Clairette, Bourboulenc and Roussanne are grown with some significance.
The wine of Chateauneuf-du-Pape takes its name from the relocation of the papal court to Avignon. The lore says that after moving in 1309, Pope Clément V (after whom Chateau Pape-Clément in Pessac-Léognan is named) ordered that vines were planted. But it was actually his successor, John XXII, who established the vineyards. The name however, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, translated as "the pope's new castle," didn’t really stick until the 19th century.